We’ve Moved! | Moving Tips from a Frequent Mover

May 16, 2017

Guys, we’ve moved! We were living in an apartment in Costa Mesa, and we moved to a house less than ten minutes away. Still in Costa Mesa, but feels like a different world! We are both so happy to be in a house with a little more space and a yard. We were also having a crazy mold issue in our old apartment (don’t ever live in 27 Seventy Five OR a UDR Property – they’ve been terrible!) so that combined with the twins coming pushed us to hunt for a place a little earlier than we’d anticipated. While moving has been a lot of work, we both wake up so happy everyday, and can’t stop telling each other how much we love it here. I think Lo would say the same if she could talk ;). Here’s a video of her the first time we let her loose in the back yard – I swear she did this for a good half hour!

And here are a couple of iPhone shots of the new house that I snapped when we were looking at it. Once we get settled I’ll have to take you on a house tour!

I love how bright and white the kitchen is!I couldn’t believe it when I saw that the family room had a white brick fireplace – my dream!

Side note – we have a lot to do in the way of design, but the very first thing I ordered was this huge circle mirror (inspired by our neighbors and good friend, the Christensons) and I can’t wait for it to get here!!

And why were we so picky about living in Costa Mesa? Because we love it here, and it really has become home for us. We’ve been lucky to make some amazing friends here – we have fun couples to hang out with, Blake has a fun group of guys to surf and spearfish with, and I’ve found the coolest group of women who are so supportive and down to earth. I actually have two really close friends that are having babies in October, which will likely be when I have the twins! We are just 10-15 minutes from the beach, and close to the 405 for when we need to commute up to LA. I stumbled on this article about Costa Mesa the other day, and it was a fun learning some of the history behind this place.

As for the moving part, I’ve decided that moving might be kind of like pregnancy in that you forget how hard it is until you do it again ;). Here are some basic moving tips that have really helped me through my last couple of moves:

Moving Tips

Purge Beforehand

It’s inevitable that as you’re packing up to move, you’ll wonder, “How do I have THIS much stuff?” You’ll also probably realize that a lot of it hasn’t been used (or maybe even touched!) since the last time you moved! You’ll be so happy if you take the time to get rid of that excess stuff before you start packing. And if you have the time, I highly recommend reading and applying the stuff in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – it’s literally life-changing!! I actually raved about it in this post a couple of years ago, which was the last time we moved ;).

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Get the Proper Supplies

I’m talking legit boxes, shipping tape, sharpies, plastic wrap, and paper to wrap breakables. If you know you’re moving far enough in advance and have the time, you can gather boxes for free from stores (try the back by the dumpsters) or the free section on Craigslist. My mom said her favorite spot to get boxes when she moved was from the Kinko’s dumpsters, because they have sturdy boxes that are usually only used for paper products ;). In our case, I was in a hurry and went to Home Depot, which is super close by. Their boxes are very reasonably priced, and I was able to get all the other supplies we needed there as well.

Be Organized, and Label EVERYTHING!

Be so organized! As you fill up a box, take a Sharpie and write on the outside of the box what you’re putting in it. You might think you’ll remember that you tossed your heating pad in with your bathroom towels, but trust me, you won’t! 😉 This time I stayed super organized until the very end, when I started throwing random things in the last couple of boxes. I promise you’ll regret that! If you can take the time to stay organized, you’ll be so happy you did.

Our “empties” before we broke them all down. Can you tell Blake is feeling accomplished? 😉

Hire Movers for the Big Stuff

We didn’t want to spend a lot, so we decided to box things on our own but then hired some movers for the big boxes and furniture. (Remember my friend Carly that helped us last time we moved? Well she and her boyfriend Josh showed up again and helped us pack and shuffle boxes the day before the movers came. My pregnant self MIGHT have cried a little when they showed up ;).) By the time the movers came, we had boxes and furniture all ready to go, and they were worth every penny! The company we found was about $100/hour for three guys, truck, plastic wrap, blankets, and wardrobe boxes included. They wrapped everything so nicely and didn’t damage a thing.

Pack a Suitcase with your Essentials

Even if you’re not moving far, pack a little carry-on with your favorite pajamas, a couple of outfits (comfortable and moving-friendly) and toiletries. You’ll be so glad when you’re not digging through boxes at 2 in the morning looking for your toothbrush!

Unpack One Box at a Time

Now it was helpful to have the movers put the furniture in the proper rooms, but I personally like to leave the boxes in the garage and bring them in the house one at a time to unpack. This will leave the house feeling clean throughout the process, and will be a lot less overwhelming. If you don’t have a garage, you can pick a corner in the house to stack the boxes! Pull from it one a time, completely unpack the box and put everything away, and then break the box down. It’s so satisfying to watch that stack of boxes get smaller, like crossing things off your to-do list!

Hope that helps if you have a move on the horizon! More to come as we get settled in – I’m going to need some design help for sure ;).

2 comments

That kitchen is perfect! It has everything modern, but it’s not TOO big. Some of these kitchen now a days are bigger than the living room. I’ve moved a fair share of times in my life having grown up in a military family and I 100% agree with the point to label and even over-label boxes. It makes unpacking, and digging through boxes you have yet to unpack to find that one top, bearable. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the new house!